1. Field
Embodiments disclosed herein relate to an air conditioner in which all constituent elements of a refrigeration cycle are installed within a single body disposed entirely in an outdoor space such that no refrigerant is transferred to an indoor space, and only air generated by the refrigeration cycle is transferred to the indoor space.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an air conditioner may include constituent elements of a refrigeration cycle such as a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and an evaporator, to cool or heat an inner space using the constituent elements of the refrigeration cycle.
Air conditioner types may include a separated (sometimes known as a split system) air conditioner and an integrated air conditioner. The separated air conditioner may include an indoor unit installed in an indoor space, and an outdoor unit installed in an outdoor space. The indoor unit of the separated air conditioner may include only some of the constituent elements of a refrigeration cycle (e.g., the evaporator and expansion valve), while the outdoor unit includes the other elements (e.g., the compressor and condenser). An integrated air conditioner may include constituent elements of a refrigeration cycle such as a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and evaporator which are installed within a single body.
In the separated air conditioner, which includes an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, as mentioned above, the indoor and outdoor units are connected via a refrigerant tube for transfer of a refrigerant. The refrigerant tube may be lengthened in accordance with the installation positions of the indoor and outdoor units. When the refrigerant tube has a long length, the performance and efficiency of the refrigeration cycle may be degraded.
One example of an integrated air conditioner may be a window air conditioner. In the window air conditioner, which is installed at a window of a building, a portion of a body of the window air conditioner is disposed in an indoor space, and the remaining portion of the body is disposed in an outdoor space. In such a window air conditioner, noise generated from a compressor or other constituent elements, during operation of a refrigeration cycle may be directly transmitted to the indoor space because a portion of the air conditioner is disposed in the indoor space.